


More Than Words

by ClassyFangirl



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Declarations Of Love, M/M, Marking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-11
Updated: 2013-10-11
Packaged: 2017-12-29 02:47:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/999947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClassyFangirl/pseuds/ClassyFangirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Newt said "I love you" to Hermann, and the first time Hermann said it to Newt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	More Than Words

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SaunterVaguely](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaunterVaguely/gifts).



> A prompt fill! Enjoy.

Newt says it first, which doesn’t really surprise Hermann when he thinks about it years later.

They’re in bed, gasping, Newt curled against Hermann’s side, Hermann on his back. They’re gleaming with sweat and each other’s come, breathless. Newt sits up, which Hermann is rather surprised he can do after that rather vigorous exercise. (His cheeks heat up when he thinks about it, even though it just happened five minutes ago and he was _very_ directly involved.)

Newt straddles Hermann again, but laying down with his hips up so they are parallel without resting any weight on Hermann. Newt gently nips at his collarbone, sucking and biting- not hard enough to really hurt, but enough that he’ll certainly leave a mark.

“What are you doing that for?” Hermann asks.

Newt looks up at him. The lights are off, and his pupils are blown wide, making his eyes look much darker than usual. “I wanted- well, you left a ton on me, so I wanna leave one on you, man. I mean, look-” Newt arches his neck so Hermann can see the bruises forming there and on the tops of his shoulders.

Hermann carefully traces one of the marks with the pad of his thumb, and he feels Newt shiver under his touch. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to-”

“No, no!” Newt leans down and kisses Hermann’s cheek. “No, I- I like it. It’s, like...‘property of Hermann Gottlieb, do not touch’. So can I- can I give you one, too? Nobody’ll ever see it, not with your frumpy grandpa clothes-” Hermann huffs, mildly offended. “-so it’ll be our little secret. Well, for you- I’m never gonna be able to hide mine.”

Hermann nods. He truly hadn’t meant to mark Newt so severely, but he finds he enjoys the idea, decorating so everyone knows who he has been with. It seems only fair that Newt mark him as well. “All right. Go ahead, then.”

Newt grins brightly. “Awesome.” He goes back to work, carefully biting and sucking, like it’s an art form.

Hermann comes close to falling asleep like that, but not before he hears Newt whisper, close to his skin, “I love you.”

Hermann doesn’t say anything to confirm he heard him- he doesn’t know _what_ to say to that -but he rests his hands on Newt’s back and runs his hands gently over him, rubbing softly as Newt nuzzles his neck.

 

ooo

 

Weeks go by as Hermann tries to decide how to best return the phrase to Newt. He _wants_ to say it- he feels it, genuinely, whenever he looks at him, whenever Newt smiles, whenever he gets his way in an argument, when he is laid out beneath Hermann, squirming on the mattress. Hermann knows he loves Newt, loves him so much he cannot even try to quantify it. He simply does not know how to _say_ it.

He tries to say it at dinner, whether it’s one of their late meals in the Shatterdome mess hall, a date at the expensive sushi restaurant, or the greasy little American place tucked into the back streets of Hong Kong, which Hermann _still_ can’t believe Newt ever found. He tries to say it while he watches Newt ramble and eat, but he can’t.

He tries to say it when they’re in bed together, whether they’ve just woken up in the morning, or during or after their...sexual activities. He feels it when he’s staring at Newt’s peaceful sleeping face, and he feels it when he looks at Newt’s gorgeous expression while he gasps for breath, yet he can’t say it.

It’s utterly ridiculous. Hermann _feels_ it, he knows he does, but for some reason, three words are so tricky to say. Newt says them easily, kissing Hermann’s cheek before he runs off to check on a delivery, yelling, “Love you!” when Hermann leaves to deliver a report to Marshall Hansen. He could just say “I love you too” after one of Newt’s outbursts, but he finds he can’t do that either- though he _would_ rather say it on his own. He thinks it might mean more, that way.

One night, they’re sitting in Newt’s room, and Hermann honestly doesn’t remember why they’re here. They’re sitting on Newt’s bed, and Hermann is just listening to him talk, listening to him go on and on about Otachi’s wingspan, and how her tail would’ve been used to help her balance.

“-and god, how _cool_ would it be to have a flying pet of your own? One that’s not, uh, a killer alien, but _still_ -”

“I love you,” Hermann says. It slips out of his mouth carelessly, like something fragile dropped on a concrete floor.

Newt just blinks at him and smiles, an almost roguish twitch of the lips. “I know.”

Hermann huffs, frowning at him. “Newton, that is _hardly_ the response I was hoping for-”

“Come _on,_ dude!” Newt giggles and swats at Hermann’s arm. “I always wanted to say that! C’mon- _Star Wars_? I have _always_ wanted to try that. I think I’m very Han Solo.”

“You _are_ a scruffy-looking nerfherder.”

“Who’s scruffy-looking?” Newt says, managing to look almost offended despite the huge grin on his face. He laughs and then kisses Hermann. “That was _perfect,_ dude. You are literally perfect.” Newt scoots closer to Hermann and rests his head against his shoulder. “I did know, though. It’s...it shows on your face. I could always tell, even though you never said it.”

Hermann feels himself blush a little, absurdly, but he smiles. “Well, that’s good to know. I’m pleased that you can read me so well.”

Newt chuckles and kisses Hermann’s neck. “Still glad you said it out loud. It’s, like...proof. Oh man- I wish I could’ve recorded it! Then I could have actual, physical proof, and I could play it whenever I wanted, even when you’re away, I could just play it over and over-”

Hermann rolls his eyes and kisses Newt firmly to shut him up. “Maybe some other time,” Hermann says. “But only if I get one too.”

Newt smiles at that. “Okay. Fair enough.”

They sit together, warm and silent for a while. “I love you,” Hermann repeats, carding his fingers through Newt’s hair.

Newt wraps his hand around Hermann’s. “I love you too.”


End file.
